Understanding

Now we know how commentators defined different types of words and ayats in the Qur'anic sciences,

and one of the tools they used in their studies would have been the Concordance,

each word in the Qur'an listed alphabetically by root, grouped with all the other occurrences of the word,

each referenced to its Sura and Ayat numbers and displayed in the context of the words around it.

In this way it is possible to quickly see how often a word is used,

its various grammatical structures,

and the way that it is scattered throughout the Qur'an.

Concordances are still available for us to explore the Qur'an for ourselves,

but nowadays most people would be more likely to use a concordance online rather than a print version.

Either way, in tracking the various contexts of words and phrases, we begin to see the cohesion of the Qur'an,

how different occurrences of ideas show them in a new light,

and illustrate the foundational statement that the best commentary on the Qur'an is the Qur'an itself.

So to be able to see how this takes place, it is necessary to be familiar with the Reading as a whole.

Of course this is best in the original language,

but despite the impossibility of perfect translation, those who are not fluent Arabic speakers can still gain an understanding of how different parts link together

by using a concordance alongside one or more versions of attempts to translate the text, gaining insight into deeper understanding.

By familiarising ourselves with the text as a whole, the Qur'an can more readily become integrated into our lives,

and takes on a greater personal meaning.

The Qur'an does this, guiding those that draw close to it, through any number of briefly worded insights,

as well as the major themes that are dealt with at length throughout it.

Unsurprisingly there are many different themes threaded through the Qur'an,

but the main ones are clear and obviously central to the Reading's explanatory purpose.

Of which the most essential theme is of course God, the Creator,

for without God the very idea of the Qur'an makes no sense, as God is the Speaker,

and the Qur'an is a Reminder of God's existence, and gives guidance as to how to approach an understanding of God,

recognising an essence that is incomprehensible,

everywhere, all at once, beyond space and time,

yet in a relationship with our own personal speck in the universe.

We draw closer by reading of the Beautiful Names,

characteristics we can recognise within ourselves

describing the various ways we relate to each other.

The Names describe inner states in relation to outer surroundings,

and give us a way to describe God that is intelligible to humankind.

That relationship between the inner and the outer,

the self and other,

is at the heart of various themes related to the Creation,

what we sense to be around us.

And that outside Creation seems so vast,

yet for each individual it feels as though this world is entirely about them.

It is personal consciousness.

It's about you,

how you understand, how you feel, how you believe, what you believe.

The Qur'an gives us a way to look at what is outside us

in a way that gives us hope, as well as awe and wonder.

The Signs of God are spread throughout the Reading,

Signs that display the Face of God to the extent that humankind can imagine and experience it,

whether it be the relationship between sun moon and stars,

or the movement of water on and around the earth bringing life to dead lands,

or the bonds of love and mercy that humans share,

in the creation around us we can see faint echoes of God's works.

And we are told that everything in creation worships in its own way,

serving its purpose in its appointed manner without question.

But humankind is different.

Humans have something extra, that differentiates them from the animals around them.

A human has a conscience seated in the heart, that can recognise morality,

the difference between good and evil,

and warn against what will corrupt the individual and their society.

So, obviously the Qur'an speaks of several themes related to humankind and their moral purpose,

concerning both individual morality, and their behaviour living as a society,

and it reordered and restructured the muslim community to whom it spoke

on matters such as commercial and financial transactions, poverty and inequality and social care,

sexual relations, marriage and divorce, slavery and power, oppression and war,

all themes that can be followed.

Of course, humans can try to work out these matters for themselves,

but left to themselves they don't always make too good a job of it.

Which is why it would seem to be necessary for God to provide humans with human channels communicating clear guidance and warning,

regularly backing up their claims to revelation through miraculous events.

But each time, no matter how clear the Message may have seemed at the time,

as centuries passed those miraculous events often became seen as fairy tales,

at best allegories of something historic.

With the theme concerning Messengership, the Reading makes clear that these stories are not just myths.

God can change this creation at will,

by no more than saying “Be” and it is.

The line of Messengers that the Reading discusses leads from Adam through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, to Muhammad the Messenger,

and the followers of those previous Messengers form the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians, with whom muslims are told to have friendly relationships,

and whose forms of worship muslims are required to respect.

But the line from Abraham is a line with a geographical connection quite distinct from other parts of the globe,

and as we are also told that there have been many Messengers of whom we are unaware, most muslims try to take that approach of friendship and respect when dealing with diversity of religions around the world,

And the reason for such a variety of religious practice is known to God alone.

But certainly the People of the Book have a shared understanding of many of the themes of the Qur'an as they relate to human purpose and life experience,

one key theme common to all being their eschatology,

the way that they see the meaning of life,

the difference between the life of the soul and the body, and what happens to the former after the death of the latter.

The Reading lays out what humans can never experience in this life, as death is the only doorway.

After death is the Afterlife, which brings the result of our life's moral choices.

The Afterlife is where those choices have their real effects in the reward of the Garden and the punishments of the Fire.

We get back according to what we have done.

We get back Divine Justice.

But the Reading also follows a theme that explains why humans would be inclined to choose corruption over good health,

the Fire rather than the Garden.

The inner workings of the mind and passions constantly need to deal with that choice, and without an evil alternative to good there would be no choice to be made.

So the Qur'an speaks of Satan, the whisperer inside us, always suggesting that what is bad for us would be preferable to the good,

a choice which brings struggle to our lives and strengthens us.

The most important evils we have to deal with are rarely the fault of a powerful tyrant.

Mostly what we deal with is ordinary daily life.

For those early muslims gathering around the Messenger, the Reading was integrated with their daily life,

to the extent that they could ask questions of the Messenger and get an answer directly in God's words.

Over the twenty three years of the Revelation, the community changed their behaviour,

first as individuals, then as a community, and then as a politically organised society,

and the Reading changed its nature along with the changes in that society,

recording and commenting on notable events,

and guiding the Messenger and his Companions, male and female.

The transition from Makka to Madina can be seen in the designation at the head of each Sura,

but we need the story of the Messengers life during those years to truly follow the day to day tales that are told in the Reading,

and for that we need the Hadith traditions and the Seera.

In stories of the Messenger's life we find an example of how he lived his life

through all his joys and sorrows,

all the celebrations, all the trials and tribulations, he encountered along the way.

He lived as a muslim surrendered to God at every moment.

He was, as Aisha called him, “The Qur'an walking”.